Chapter 284

"My lord, this is the place."

A rat as fat as a cow burst from the soil, gazing at the vast forest before it, listening to the faint sound of lake waves, the leader of the thick-earth rats spoke in a muffled voice.

It seemed to have something in its mouth, making its speech somewhat unclear.

Beside it, an old man wearing a yellow robe, small and stooped, also rose from the soil.

"My subordinates' people cannot approach this place, so I made a few inquiries. This place is called Huanhu Dao; on the island there is a black great turtle, said to be quite strong, and it is even called... oh! 'All grudges wiped clean!' It is said that anyone who enters this island's domain will have all grudges wiped clean!"

Hearing this, the Land Mountain Turtle nodded.

Its expression was not very good.

It would be strange for its mood to be good.

Its Ten-Thousand-Mile Mountain has been fraught with misfortune these years; being targeted by the Snow Plains and the Volcano is bad enough, but there is also someone lurking in the shadows stirring up trouble.

Not only did it cause losses among the late-stage third-level demon beasts in its Ten-Thousand-Mile Mountain, but it also slew many of its third-level demon beast underlings.

Furthermore.

The earth-weasels sent by its order to the Shattered Stone Blade Forest also never returned; only after it later sent more demon beasts did it learn that the Shattered Stone Blade Forest now bore no trace of activity from the Giant Rock Stone Monster.

This left it greatly troubled, not understanding what had happened.

But at that time the forces of the Snow Plains and the Volcano were still watching it, preventing it from leaving.

Fortunately, the Snow Plains and the Volcano have recently relaxed a bit; thus, the Land Mountain Turtle, which now had a slight chance to catch its breath, finally left the Ten-Thousand-Mile Mountain to recruit followers again.

It believed that, relying on its status as a fourth-level demon beast, it could make the third-level demon beasts it passed submit and bow.

Moreover, over the years it has managed to accumulate some gains; it is no longer the Land Mountain Lord who could offer nothing of value.

Its first target is this Huanhu Dao, or rather the black great turtle within it.

The Land Mountain Turtle believed that, being fellow turtles, it could better subdue it by appealing to emotion and reason.

But there is one thing that makes it doubtful.

That is, with its Demon Sense, it is actually difficult to scan the situation inside Huanhu Dao.

This made it quite curious, and it paid more attention to that 'fellow clan'.

On the other side of Huanhu Dao.

A tall, sturdy figure clad in white fur stood with arms crossed, tiger eyes gazing ahead, pupils glinting.

Beside him appeared a graceful figure wearing tight red leather armor, a cascade of red hair falling to her waist, resting her chin as she gazed thoughtfully in the same direction.

"Blind Bear, you see, I said that this old turtle will come out if you just give it a little gap." The red-armored woman smacked her lips and said crisply.

Hearing this, the sturdy man gave the woman a sideways glance, saying, "If anyone's got ideas, it's you, the crybaby."

Upon hearing that, flames burst forth from the woman's body as she glared at the man and shouted angrily, "Blind Bear, if you call me a crybaby again, I'll fight you first!"

"Do you think I'm afraid of you?"

The sturdy man didn't back down either; the knotted muscles on his arms bulged, and a bitter cold aura followed.

These two people—no, these two demon beasts—are actually the Snow Plains' master, the Bound Snow Ice Pattern Bear, and the Volcano's master, the Fire Velvet Seal Sorrow Lord.

The so-called 'Seal Sorrow Lord' is actually an elegant name for a snail.

The two demon beasts are evenly matched, each scorching and freezing, making it hard to tell which is superior.

Actually, these two demon beasts have never gotten along; the only reason they are now joining forces is the appearance of the Land Mountain Turtle.

No, more precisely, it is because of a treasure possessed by the Land Mountain Turtle.

And this time the Snow Plains and the Volcano simultaneously ceased hostilities also because of their calculations; if they did not stop, the Land Mountain Turtle's old turtle nature would absolutely not dare to leave its nest lightly.

Although the Land Mountain Turtle's time since breaking through to fourth level is short, and its time managing the Ten-Thousand-Mile Mountain is also brief, its choice of the Ten-Thousand-Mile Mountain as its territory was not arbitrary; within the mountain lies a rare Tunnel-to-Mystery ley line that suits not only the Land Mountain Turtle but also its treasure perfectly, so as long as the Land Mountain Turtle remains in the Ten-Thousand-Mile Mountain, neither the Bound Snow Ice Pattern Bear nor the Fire Velvet Seal Sorrow Lord can do anything against it, given its strength in defense.

But if the Land Mountain Turtle leaves the Ten-Thousand-Mile Mountain, they then have a certain chance.

The premise, of course, is that they need to join forces.

However, their mutual antagonism is not small, and truly sincere cooperation is also difficult.

In fact, after exchanging just a couple of sentences, they were about to start fighting.

"Bang!!"

The collision of the two forces burst forth with no small commotion.

But the two demon beasts each waved a hand, drawing the scattered energy back, and it was not detected by the distant Land Mountain Turtle.

They glared at each other.

"When shall we attack?" the Bound Snow Ice Pattern Bear gave itself a name, calling itself Heroic Martial Extreme.

The Fire Velvet Seal Sorrow Lord curled its lips; it also gave itself a name, but much simpler, just calling itself Seal Sorrow Lord.

"It's not here to find whatever the Huanhu Dao island master is; let's just watch them fight, and if the Huanhu Dao island master yields, we'll take the chance to destroy it together."

"That makes sense." Heroic Martial Extreme nodded, "but this Huanhu Dao is rather peculiar."

Although its true form is a bear and its conduct is straightforward, that doesn't mean it lacks brains; otherwise it wouldn't have teamed up with the Seal Sorrow Lord.

"It's somewhat interesting."

The Seal Sorrow Lord also expressed agreement.

"Here they come."

Their gazes seemed able to pierce the layers of forest and fall outside Huanhu Dao.

Huanhu Dao.

Yunhe, who had been lounging on the sunbathing platform enjoying the afternoon sun, suddenly opened his eyes.

"They're here!"

Compared to Yunhe's laziness, Bai Ning and Qingyao, who had been waiting by his side these past few days, were not so relaxed; they almost sprang to their feet instantly.

Seeing this, Yunhe chuckled, "No need to be nervous; seeing it once is enough."

Saying that, he took a step forward, leading them toward the edge of Huanhu Dao.

Soon.

Already, under Yunhe's order, a large clearing had been made, and Yunhe appeared here, while Bai Ning and Qing Yao were arranged by him to be farther away.

After all, he was facing a fourth‑level demon beast; although he appeared calm on the surface, that was because he had this confidence, but if he accidentally let Bai Ning and Qing Yao get involved, it would be hard to say.

These are all his possessions and friends; any loss would cause him heartache.

Arriving at the border of Huanhu Dao, Yunhe finally saw that Lu Shan Gui again.

However, compared to the hulking giant he had seen before, what he saw now was merely a stooped old man, yet his demonic aura showed no sign of concealment; the aura of a fourth‑level demon beast made Yunhe's heart skip a beat, even though he had long been prepared.

Speaking of which, this was also his first time seeing a fourth‑level demon beast at such close range.

"Are you the Island Lord of Huanhu Dao?"

Lu Shan Gui stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at Yunhe with a glint in his eyes.

It is a turtle, and one could naturally see at a glance the specialness of Yunhe's black giant turtle.

To be honest, Lu Shan Gui felt his heart tremble at this moment.

He could feel his own bloodline flowing faster.

His gaze swept up and down Yunhe; his eyes grew brighter, and the look of longing in them deepened.

As a demon beast's instinct told him, if he could swallow this black giant turtle before him, he would gain great benefit.

Although Lu Shan Gui belonged to one of the more exceptional turtle species, reaching the fourth‑level tier was certainly a great fortune; his bloodline had never been his advantage, and when facing other fourth‑level demon beasts—whether the Binding Snow Ice Pattern Bear or the Fire Velvet Seal Sorrow Lord—the purity of their bloodlines far surpassed his.

Demon beasts pay great attention to bloodline concentration.

A demon beast's bloodline concentration, to a certain extent, equals its status; among those of the same realm, the one with higher bloodline concentration naturally enjoys an advantage, indicating a higher standing.

This is also one of the reasons why Lu Shan Gui's subjugation of his underlings has not been so smooth.

And it is very obvious that the Land Mountain Turtle can sense that Yunhe's bloodline density far exceeds its own, being a much purer turtle lineage than its.

But it also had some doubts.

Because it sensed three different bloodlines from Yunhe's body: Mysterious Turtle, Dragon Turtle, and even the aura of the Great Ao, which made the Land Mountain Turtle extremely envious.

Among these three lineages, any one would be coveted by turtle-type demon beasts, yet this black-shelled great turtle before them actually possesses all three at once!

Compared to it, the Land Mountain Turtle's bloodline is really somewhat

Compared to turtles, it's trash!

However, among these three bloodlines, what makes the Land Mountain Turtle most envious is the Great Ao bloodline, because it matches its own attribute the best.

So upon first seeing Yunhe, the Land Mountain Turtle changed its original intention to subdue Yunhe.

This turtle, it's time to eat it!

And the Land Mountain Turtle's change, Yunhe naturally saw it, his eyes gradually narrowing.

"I, the lord, give you one chance: voluntarily relinquish the Great Ao bloodline, and I will take you as my subordinate, and I can lend you the Earth Vein Pearl for a month to restore your origin."

Although the Land Mountain Turtle is now much smaller in size compared to Yunhe, it regards Yunhe with the posture of a superior.

It seems that, for Yunhe, its doing this is not only not a demand, but rather a kind of bestowal.

But the response to it was,

"Ang!!!"

Yunhe roared without hesitation, a mighty surge rising up.

Between demon beasts, what need is there for pleasantries and pretenses?

If they don't see eye to eye, they fight!

However, he, a third-level late-stage demon beast, facing a fourth-level demon beast does not flee but fights, which is absolutely a rarity among rarities in the demon beast world.

"Old Turtle, if you want to fight then fight, why so much nonsense?" Yunhe sent this mentally, brimming with intense provocation.

Hearing this, the Land Mountain Turtle froze.

It seemed it never expected Yunhe to react like this.

Previously, when it subdued demon beasts, even a stubborn demon beast like the Giant Rock Stone Monster would not dare to call it out like that.

This way of addressing is actually more like the tone of Xiong Wu Ji and Zhuan Chou Jun.

After regaining his senses, the Land Mountain Turtle laughed angrily.

"Good, good, good, what gall! Today I, the lord, will pull out your tendons, strip your hide, and refine your blood!"

Then its body suddenly surged with thick yellow earth aura, and its form rose into the air.

It wanted to see where this black-shelled great turtle got the gall to act so arrogantly.

What surprised it was that after Yunhe finished his arrogance, he not only had no intention to charge forward, but instead steadily retreated several dozen steps, assumed a solemn posture, and even beckoned to it.

"Old Turtle, then come try!"

Speaking the most arrogant words, displaying the most unwilling aura, yet his action seemed utterly mismatched with his tone.

Although the Land Mountain Turtle had transformed into human form with full intelligence, its demon beast nature remained unchanged; it would not think as much as a human cultivator, and seeing Yunhe repeatedly provoke it, the anger accumulated in its heart could no longer be contained.

The anger accumulated from Xiong Wu Ji and Zhuan Chou Jun these days also erupted at this moment.

The Land Mountain Turtle let out an angry roar, its phantom faintly appearing behind it, and threw a punch that smashed straight toward Yunhe's face.

This punch seemed ordinary, yet it rolled up surging earth qi, fully displaying the might of a fourth-level great demon!

But before it could reach Yunhe, Yunhe showed a smile, clapped his claws, and lowly shouted:

"Rise!"

Today.

Then let this 'country bumpkin' demon witness the various formations and divine abilities of the cultivation world.

Hum—

A sound of trembling air.

Then a towering formation rose up out of thin air, enveloping the Land Mountain Turtle.

In the Land Mountain Turtle's sight, the scene before its eyes underwent a heaven‑shaking, earth‑overturning change, and as for Yunhe, he seemed to have vanished into thin air.

What is this?!

Suddenly, the Land Mountain Turtle recalled the few inherited memories it had obtained after successfully passing the Transformation Tribulation.

"Formation?!"

Immediately, a strong jealousy rose in its heart.

In its view, Yunhe's grasp of formations must also be due to inherited memory; this is the advantage brought by the higher purity of beast blood, enabling them to stay ahead of other beasts from the outset.

"But you think this mere formation can stop this king?!"

"Of course not."

Yunhe's voice followed, his voice stern:

"But what if another ten formations?"

How many?

Ten formations?!

Land Mountain Turtle: "?!"

Even it couldn't help but stare blankly.

(End of chapter)